"I... See. Thank you, my friend. I'm sorry for your loss, you're more than welcome to stay if you'd like?"
"Sorry Charles, but was thinking it was time I took a vacation from all of this... Excitement. The world's changing, and maybe its time for people like me to take a step back from it all, ya know?"
"I understand. If you ever change your mind, my doors shall always be open to you. Goodbye, Fred."
Frederick Duncan gave a listless wave as he walked off the porch and drove away in his car. Within moments the Ex F.B.I agent was nothing more than a dot on the horizon. Charles Xavier had never before felt the considerable weight of his failures more than right now. The aged man gave a weary sigh as he stared at the plain, almost innocent looking, manila folder resting on his lap.
He felt disgusted as if he was staring at a physical embodiment of humanity's sins. Truthfully, the mutant rights activist didn't feel as if his thoughts were far off, because printed boldly on the front of the folder were the words: [Weapon Plus]
Logan..? Logan, can you hear me?
It took barely a second for the experienced telepath to find his wayward friend's psychic signature. The man was currently doing some tune-ups for his beloved bright red Harley motorcycle and old 1969 Mustang. Xavier wasn't very knowledgable in the ways of cars or motorcycles, but he was pretty sure much of the clawed mutant's modifications were illegal. There was no way having that much nitro was safe.
Yeah, Chuck, loud and clear. Mind filling me in on why you're contacting me? I'm a bit busy over her-"
We've found him.
Professor Xavier would normally have laughed at the antics of his old friend, but the grave information he recent;y acquired had drained any such good humor from him. He didn't need to be there in person to see what had occurred, as the sounds of the resulting crash and curses of the older X-men could be heard all the way from the garage in the back of the manor. Normally he didn't approve of cursing, especially around the now not-so-young children, but he'd let it slide this time.
It was because it was a happy occasion of finding their missing member, not because of how amusing the scene of Wolverine tripping over himself and getting stuck under the hold of his car was, honest.
Well, maybe just a little bit.
Still, there were things to be done if they were going to stage a rescue, and considering the enemies, perhaps it was time to visit a certain man and his team of heroes.
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Sarah Kinney, genius geneticist and "mother" of X-23 didn't know how to deal with the situation presented in front of her. She had given up all rights to refer to the female clone of Wolverine as her daughter in any capacity when she had been all but too willing to throw her under the bus in the name of science and research. She had basically sold the child she had helped give birth too to state a curiosity, no worse than that, it was just to prove a point that her idea was sound.
She had sold her own child to secure more funding, and in turn, the little girl was turned into a weapon in order to secure the Facility more funding with blood money.
Sarah didn't care. It wasn't as if they had tricked her, no Zander Rice, she could've simply denied becoming her experiment's incubator, but she simply didn't care enough about the thing's fate. The difference between the living growing within her for 9 months and a serious case of tapeworms was paper thin in her own twisted mind.
By the time she did care, it was already far too late to beg for forgiveness, too late to change the horrors the little girl had been put through- been made to commit.
She had thought a life seeped to the knees in blood would've been the worst of it, but then she'd heard about Zander's brilliant little plan in the last meeting. They wanted to breed her daughter as if some livestock.
None of them were even sure if the damn thing locked together with X-23 was even human! It almost seemed as if the creature spent as much time as a fish or bird as it did as a homo sapien! The changes seemed almost spontaneous and random outside of battle, and the ideas of what could happen during... The thoughts were almost too much to bear.
And the worst part of it all was that X-23 almost seemed to take comfort in the thing, the irony of her biological daughter seeking safety and comfort from a literal monster rather than anyone here was almost enough to bring her to tears.
Eventually, the amusement and intrigue of watching their interaction in a "natural" habitat will quickly wear off and she didn't doubt any of the sick fucks in here to not bring up introducing aphrodisiacs into the equation. She had to work quickly and find a way to get her free from this hell.
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Andrew wasn't certain when it began. Perhaps ever since the first meeting when a spark of recognition raced through him? Even as he replayed the memories over and over he still had trouble identifying exactly what it was. Curiosity? Boredom? Sympathy...?
Whatever it was, it grabbed his interest like nothing else, and everything else simply fell into place. From his mindscape where he was content to drown himself in the memories of the dead, the memories of his past lives he supposes, he suddenly found a reason to pull himself out of the currents of the subconscious for the first time in what seemed like forever. When one could live a day a thousand different times time was something very very hard to keep track of.
"Are you going to come with me, little fella?"
His yellow glowing companion simply nudged him on as he crawled his way towards the surface. It seems he wasn't bringing his old friend with him, it honestly filled him with trepidation and for a moment however brief it was, he considered heading back into the darkness.
Who knows what could be waiting out there for him? He had gotten used to the cold murky depths, found comfort in its familiar numbness even. What needs for him of the outside world when he had enough experiences to last him for entire lifetimes?
Well, suddenly finding his pants on metaphysical fire was enough to dissuade him of the thought.
"Alright, alrighty. I got it! I'm going, I'm going. Bye, mom."
Somehow even though it was in his mind, he wasn't quite sure what the small baby chick was saying, but he knew all too well that familiar tone of chirping. The darn thing was laughing at him!
"You know, well, I know, that talking to yourself is a sign of insanity and all, and you didn't really have a choice considering you're a literal figment of my imaginations, but... Thanks. For everything, for being here."
He hugged the strange, firebreathing, sassy bird. Was it weird as hell to have an imaginary best friend at his age? Probably, and if anyone found out he would probably get institutionalized faster than Quicksilver in bed, but screw what other people thought.
A loud chirp brought him out of his thoughts (?) and he found himself nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, I better go. I'll see you around, Flammy. Let me know if you ever wanna stretch your wings, and do be careful in here, my head isn't the nicest place to be, after all."
Without any more words to say and having run out of excuses to delay it any further, he took a deep breath and woke up.
"Well, hello beautiful, come here often?"
Fun fact, surprising a trained assassin with unbreakable knives attached to her arms was not a smart idea. Well, maybe for anyone who couldn't regrow their eyes, face, lungs, and crotch at least. He found himself laughing as he remembered the way she jumped. Memories of years passed of when another similarly clawed mutant had been taken by surprise during movie night flashed through his head.
"Alpha..? Are you... Alright? I apologize, you had taken me by surprise." Hearing Laura's voice while being fully awake for once was quite surreal. This barely 100 pounds wet super-assassin, who would have on more occasions gone into a bloodthirsty berserker rage than laughed, this little genetically modified clone... Had just the most beautiful voice he has ever heard.
A little monotone with only the slightest hint of remorse. She went back to his side and he realized they had been snuggling. As she rubbed her head and nose against his side like a puppy, a slight whine coming from the back of her throat, he couldn't help but feel tempted to "accidentally" surprise her once more... Well maybe later.
Getting stabbed was so worth it to see this kind of expression.
Aww, who's my adorable little killer? You are! Yes, you are!
Of course, considering how rarely he was in his supposed right state of mind he pulled Laura to the side, his back facing the large one-way mirror and the observational camera in the corner. The raven-haired girl seemed to sigh in contentment as her back was pressed against his chest and his arm snaked itself around her midriff, at least until his right hand tapped her.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
She opened her green eyes only to have them widen in shock. In his hands, or rather growing out of it, was something similar to a post-it note. Her training kicked in and she schooled her expression within moments. After she finished reading the hidden message and it dissolved back into the body of her cellmate and lover, she turned in his arms and rolled them both over, nuzzling her head into the nock of his neck as her dark tresses formed a black curtain around them.
She planted kisses along his neck and up the side of his face as she whispered, "When do we start?"
Her grin would've probably made any man wet his pants in fear at the sheer amount of rage and hostility within them. He found it rather charming the way her emerald eyes seemed to glow in bloodlust. And other kinds of lusts. It seems thoughts of brutally murdering their captors were as much a turn on to her as any chemical concoctions they pumped in here trying to push them together, not that they needed much help, and get a hold of the two's future child.
Sucks for them that he could shoot blanks all day if he felt like it.
Being a shapeshifting, possibly soul-consuming, black ooze monster from another dimension/multiverse wasn't all bad considering your sexual prowess apparently got a stupidly large boost. It didn't help that in the back of his mind Andrew could draw upon the experience of a dozen "first time"s in all manner of physical affections.
The fact that he was giving the people behind this shitshow a metaphorical finger every time he "fell for their evil plot" only made it all the sweeter. Although he could've done without the mental image of a bunch of creepy old dudes watching him- thankfully the beautiful girl writhing underneath him could be oh so deliciously distracting.
He could cross off voyeurism off his list of kinks, but apparently Odaxelagnia was now firmly on that list. There was just something so incredibly sexy about having someone nibble on you.
The fact that he even knew what that word was only mildly disturbing as he was quite certain he had never heard of even read the word before in his life.
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In an impossibly far, far, away place, three figures in cloaked from head to toe in purple robes stared at each other. Each wore a golden mask that concealed their faces that was round and vaguely humanoid. The mouth was carved open and served as a slit for eyes, and a pair of all-white eyes was all could be seen from each of the identical trios.
"It appears we have all come to a verdict?"
"Yes, indeed."
"Motion carried, the [Trial of The Anomaly] has concluded. The trial period of Anomaly #03 has come to pass, and we of the Court have found him acceptable. We welcome you, Trespasser."
"... Oh wow, Gee Willikers, thanks! I feel so welcome. Now, how about you cut the shit and send me back already? And do me a favor would ya? Erase this meeting just like the last one, I don't wanna remember your ugly mugs and have them haunting my dreams later on, k?"
"Why you! Insolent littl-"
"We all know you ain't gotta do shit to me, so hurry up, chop-chop, not all of us have eons to spend sucking our own thumbs like you big-headed idiots. Quit the posturing already, why don't ya?"
"... Very well, The Magistrate has spoken. You are free to go and your little... Request shall be granted. Just remember that from now on your Patron shall no longer be able to help you. Everything that you do, every little change and shift in the course of events yet to be, shall be on you. Actions have consequences."
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"Oh my, how troublesome."
Professor Walker wasn't quite sure what would be the appropriate response for a man of his station, but he was sorely tempted to laugh as he watched the show X-23 and Subject Alpha was performing. A macabre dance of deadly grace, bloody flowers bloomed wherever they went leaving behind untold carnage and slowly cooling bodies, few if any, remaining intact. Well, those fortunate enough to have the clone as their partner at least.
Oh, how the aged scientist wished he had a method to analyze the debacle in front of him other than just his plain old eyes. How did their resident vegetative and cognitively stunted lab rat escape? How did he regain his sanity? What method was he using to turn those armed men into the same black sludge his separated remains tend to do?
Where did all that mass go? How was he walking with all that weight? Why wasn't the Kinetic Oscillator working?
"Ahh, what a shame I won't get to see the ending of this play. Man, am I sure am glad I aint the director and have to deal with the fallout."
Misgivings over being unable to collect such valuable data aside, the Professor soon made way for the rooftop, quickly getting onboard the helicopter awaiting him and escaping with everything he needed. A USB containing all the data he had acquired during his stay here, more than enough to save his neck from the clusterfuck and restaffing of the Facility, and a strange orb the size of a basketball clutched in his arms.
He was carefully cradling it as if it was his precious baby even as an explosion sounded out from behind him. It contained the samples they had managed to get. He had all he needed to restart the program as needed, hopefully in a better-equipped location. Perhaps even highly esteemed and secretive scientific bastion of Weapon Plus, The World, if he was lucky enough.
Surely, a man could dream, couldn't he?
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An explosion shook the complex the two teenage Bio-Weapons were in, the distraction proved to be most helpful to their massacre as they took full advantage of their opponent's surprise to cut through the opposition, quite literally in X-23's case.
Steel, flesh, bone, none of it managed to halt her claws for more than a split section before parting beneath the deadly blades. Andrew took point, his intentionally bright crimson coloring and grisly visage made him the perfect walking target to attract their attention, and more importantly their gunfire.
Honestly, he could probably destroy and blow up the entire place within the hour if he went wild, but he didn't want to deny his cute little trained killer of her revenge. That and the fact that he oh so loathed loose ends and wanted to make sure to get as many of the bastards as he could.
He made sure to Consume every person he came across and not leave even a single strand of hair behind, leaving no evidence nor bit of DNA behind for any clone fuckery. These sick bastards were going to rot in hell, and he'll be damned before anyone pulls their sorry asses out of the fire.
"Fucking monsters. Why. Won't. You. Just. Die?!" A particularly brave soldier heroically rushed towards the demonic-looking bear in front of his comrades as he emptied his AK's magazine into its face. He flipped it around in his hand and held it by the burning hot muzzle, ignoring the burning pain and sickly smell of roasting human flesh, and swung it like a baseball bat towards the creature's face.
The blow seemed to stagger it for a brief moment, and that was all the man needed as grabbed a handful of grenades and pulled all of the pins of at once before promptly shoving his entire arm into the beast's face and deep down its gullet. An ugly smirk was on his face as his eyes were filled with vicious and smug satisfaction.
"This is for my friends, ya shite"
The man could hear his comrades calling his name after his suicidal stunt, but he didn't turn around. He kept his gaze study on the mutant freak that had murdered so many of his companions.
John. Sarah. William. Tony. Jacob...
Countless faces flashed through his head, names engraved in his heart. From the street rats to the unwanted orphan, the Facility had taken them in for training, giving them a purpose, a cause to work towards and a future to strive for, and most importantly, a home.
And now all of that was being taken from him, his family slaughtered before his eyes as his home was dyed in the ichor of everyone he knew by this damned beast.
Unacceptable.
"I'll see you in Hel-" The man didn't get to finish as the explosion drowned out his words. Surprisingly the man didn't die. Well, not from the grenades anyways.
Andrew had reflexive bitten down when something had entered his mouth and chomped the arm off, leaving the man to be sans an arm and sitting on his ass in confusion and growing horror as the smoke cleared leaving the unharmed visage of one mildly irritated and coughing 10-foot tall bear.
If it could even be classified as such that is. Its fur was black as the night with crimson glowing streaks running through it in strange patterns that were visible even in the dark. A body that was covered in thick bone-like plates that seemed to trace it's skeleton while a skull mask was firmly on its head. Four arms with bulging muscles and scythelike claws along with a long snake-like tail that ended in a spiked mace, it was a thing of nightmares made manifest.
Said tail's spikey ball of death hovered in front of the stupified man, but he didn't flinch as he merely stared Andrew in the eye... At least he did until a crack grew across the thing and it suddenly turned into a fanged grin. Like a demented version of Pac-Man, it opened it's jaws impossibly wide before taking a bite out of the man.
Strangely enough, no blood seeped out, but as if he dipped in acid, from the location of the wound his body quickly broke down into a black ooze.
He didn't have time to scream before his lungs had dissolved and all he could do was give off a sad gurgle for his death rattle. In the other corridors were similar scenes of carnage as Andrew quickly repurposed all the additional Biomass he gains from every kill into more creatures.
Usually wolves or giant pythons, but rodents were also a fun choice since he could make dozens of them per batch. All from just one body to boot and they were very efficient in terms of time needed to make and how much of a bitch it was to kill them with bullets.
Fun fact, it only took around 36.8 seconds for 3-5 of his cutie pies to completely break down a man, bones and all. Which was quite a bit more than Andrew needed to make another batch.
Now, if only he could find Sarah fucking Kinney and get out of here, then everything would be just peachy!
But nope, the Doc, in all of her infinite wisdom, decided to make her own plan to rescue them. Which, you know, would've been swell and everything, if it wasn't for a minor, itsy bitsy, small, teeny tiny hiccup.
She got fucking caught.
Which meant Andrew and Laura had to say fuck it all and throw their own plan for escape down the drain to save the woman because his girlfriend had some form of emotional attachment to the stupid bitch. Was he being harsh? He thought he was for all of 5 seconds before he remembered that not only was this woman perfectly find with illegal and cruel human experimentation, but also making child soldiers and assassins and being the reason his girlfriend couldn't sleep for more than a couple hours without waking up from constant nightmares.
He wasn't a doctor, but he was pretty damn sure she'd be dead if it wasn't for her ridiculous healing factor.
Of course, he was also immensely grateful for the mere fact that she was the reason Laura was alive in the first place. It was a complicated conundrum, to say the least.
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"Are you ready, Captain?" The pilot of the helicopter asked as he closed in on the target. Even from their considerable distance, she could make out the immense size of the thing. It was large and looked as if it was a college campus, even with all her years working for S.H.I.E.L.D and seeing all manners of things she couldn't believe someone had hidden such a thing in the woods of Canada.
"Of course. You don't need to find a landing spot, by the way. Just get as close as you can to one of the towers, within a mile or so is good enough."
She gave him a thumbs up and didn't question the strange request. He knew what he was doing and it would be an insult to ask any further. If the man wanted to make a jump from a mile or two in the air, who was she to question the Super Solider?
Thankfully she didn't need to worry about being seen or heard as the resident weather Goddess had decided to bless them with a sound dampening barrier and cloud camouflage. Coupled with the cover of the night and they were nigh undetectable.
Another half dozen stealth copters were trailing silently behind her lead while the X-Men's famed Blackbird was high above them. They would serve as the shock troopers to hold off the Facility's forces while the mutant team would force on their own mission, search and rescue.
Extraction.
One of the hardest of them, not only going into a hostile environment and possibly behind enemy lines, but who could even tell if the boy was even still alive at this point?
Only time will tell.